If a picture is worth a thousand words, a good melody is worth a million.

I have had little interest in blogging lately. I guess any extra energy is going into physical therapy and practicing flute for choir tomorrow (and keeping things going while dear husband was gone all week). I've reached my "feeling a failure at Christmas" point, after which, hopefully, I'll start to enjoy it.

[Later note: I wrote this post this afternoon. We decorated the tree this evening, and I'm feeling much more Christmas-y.]

I have energy and feel pretty good earlier in the day, but, by the time I get on the computer, I have no energy and feel rather flat. I'm even behind on our photoblog about Duke Gardens. I haven't even done anything with the camera lately.

We had some snow last night, but I can't do anything in it, or even go outside, because it's icy and I don't want to re-injure my knee while it's healing.

I realized, when I came across this Christmas meme at Electronic Cerebrectomy, that I haven't done a meme in a long time. This is a long meme (though I've cut out some questions) which will make up for that (pictured right: Biltmore House last December):

16. Flashing or still lights?Still on our tree/outdoor decorations. Flashing on other peoples'. I like to look at the flashing ones, but I don't want to see them all the time. (Lights to the right are at the Biltmore House)

17. Wreaths or mistletoe/holly?Neither. I have a bad memory of wreaths from high school, and dear husband can do wonderfully without the mistletoe.

18. Rudolph or Frosty?Rudolph

19. Sledding or snowball fights?Sledding. I couldn't do that today because of my knee.

20. Snow or ice/icicles?Snow

21. Snow hat or earmuffs?Hat

22. Getting or giving?Giving.

23. Snow days or plow trucks?Snow days!

24. Stockings or presents?Presents

26. Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?Both. They each have their own specialness. Our church has a beautiful Christmas Eve service (and lots of fun singing for the choir).

27. Log Burning Channel or real thing?Log Burning Channel?! Heresy!

Real thing

28. Cards or emails?I like letters that tell you what people have been doing. I might even get ours out this year.

73. Mistletoe!Yummmmm! [The kissing - not the mistletoe, which is poisonous]

74. Rudolph!Like a lightbulb

75. Blizzard!Not where we live

76. School’s Canceled!Friends for younger son to play with

77. Ice Skating!Weak ankles

79. Black Friday!Go hiking

80. God’s Son!Adoring

83. Nutcracker!Rehearsals (lots of rehearsals)

What’s a Winter Activity YOU Do…86. …In the snow by yourself?Take pictures

87. …Inside by yourself?Read

88. …In a public place (with/alone)?Go to see Christmas Decorations with my family (e.g. Biltmore House, in Asheville, pictured right, and above)

89. …With friends/family in the snow at home?Sledding

90. …With friends/family inside at home?Games

Grade/Rate Holiday Movies A – F91. A Christmas Story. Haven't seen it92. How The Grinch Stole Christmas? B for the original. I'll never see the recent one.93. The Santa Clause? Haven't seen it. 94. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer?
A+++95. Frosty The Snowman? A. This doesn't get an A+ because it scared me when I was very little. Every time we made a snowman, I was afraid it would come inside and melt on my floor (I didn't need snow creations committing suicide in my room).96. Home Alone? Haven't seen it.97. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? Haven't seen it.98. Elf? You know, I don't watch most recent Christmas movies99. Miracle on 34th Street? A+. It just came from Netflix100. A Charlie Brown Christmas? A+

Christmas At My House…(one or the other)111. Tree is fake/real? Fake. I'm allergic to real ones. The one we have is the one my parents bought when they figured out that we were allergic.

112. Tree is under/above 4′?Above.

113. Open presents Christmas Eve/Day?Christmas
Day at home or Christmas Eve at my mother's house.

114. House/entire yard is decorated?Moderate decorations inside. A few bushes and a tree outside.

115. Amount of presents under the tree?Enough to take quite a while at a leisurely pace.

116. Snowman is a male/female?Non-gendered

117. Go for Santa?We don't make a big deal of Santa. A simple stocking will do.

118. Homemade/delivered/takeout Christmas dinner?Homemade. Last year, at daughter's request, we had stuffed shells for Christmas dinner. I don't know what dear husband will make this year (he's the creative cook. I'm not).

119. Bedtime is before/after midnight?After. We have a Christmas cookie snack after we get back from the Christmas Eve service.

185. The thing you want most this year costs $100+?Dear husband and I got each other a new CD player (our old one is rejecting more and more of our CDs), which arrived last week. We'll open it at Christmas.

188. Christmas = snow?Central NC = No

189. You know the lyrics to more than 25 Christmas songs?Definitely!

Grab Bag190. Three best things about Christmas?Sitting and snuggling someone in front of the lit tree with all the other downstairs lights off. Baking.Watching everyone open presents - particularly the Christmas treasure hunt. For each of our kids, I make a treasure hunt with about 8 or 9 clues. The clues start with pictures when the kids are young, and go to riddles or word scrambles when they're older. One year, I did a French word scramble for older son.

(Hint (which I learned from older son): Word scrambles are the most difficult when the scramble looks like a real word)

191. Worst Christmas song?There are so many bad ones, it's hard to decide.

194. Tastiest holiday treat?Egg white cookies with chocolate chips

195. Favorite pop culture Christmas icon?Rudolph

196. Know how to make cookies/brownies/cake from scratch?Yes. They're best that way.

199. What kind of pattern/pictures do you like on your wrapping paper?Pretty or interesting or colorful. Most of the wrapping paper I've seen at the stores this year wasn't interesting enough.

A very long linkfeast for gloomy winter days (which is when I put it together, though this week is nice). I've been gathering links of varying sorts - serious, musical, filmish, snarky, bawdy... Read at your own risk.

6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
The Menahmehna song(from the Muppets or Sesame Street, I can't remember
which one it's from)...my second favorite is the vibrate mode...need I
explain that?

If I had answered that meme, I would just boringly answer that I don't have a cell phone. And, in The Alphabet Game, she mentions ten things she loves that begin with N (Not safe for work or around small children):

3. Nudity..DUH! Do I really
need to explain WHY I love to be naked? Or why I love for other people
to be naked? I can't speak for others but I like letting it all hang
out although sometimes it's hanging in places I'm not impressed with,
but what can you do? (Remember the depressed boobies?)

I'm feeling better than yesterday. My knee has been better today, and I started the day swimming laps and watching the sunrise. I was even able to stay cheerful after the sun went down (which hasn't been happening lately). A good day - homeschooling, raking leaves, walking at Ayr Mont, and enjoying "Get Smart."

I haven't done a meme in a while. I got this one from Mommy Brain (I traced the meme back through a few blogs, and the numbering is strange on all of them):

1) How do you like your grilled cheese?I'm copying Mommy Brain's answer on this one because I agree: On white bread, with Velveeta, light to medium brown with the cheese melted.

On Alias Clio's recommendation, we recently watched Dance With Me. It was a thoroughly enjoyable movie, and she has a wonderful review of it:

...The second Youtube clip illustrates a less purely - how should I put
it? - indigenous kind of dancing, as it shows the dancing of couples
rather than an entire community, but dancing on display here is still
miles away from what goes on in non-Latin, non-black dance clubs in
North America. The couples move around the room, switching partners
spontaneously; the young men break free of the women, and dance a kind
of tribute to the singer; then they turn about and dance with each
other - not in a sexual way, but rather to encourage each other in
their courtship manoeuvres; and finally, they turn back to the women
who have been dancing among themselves, reclaiming their partners. It
is as if they are dancing to Life itself....

What I was doing ten years ago:(:::sotto voce::: What a personal question - younger son's tenth birthday is nine months from now. )

Gardening. April 1998 was the first spring in our current house. I was also homeschooling 10 yo son and 6 yo daughter.

Five things on my To-Do list today:1. Make dinner2. Take a walk3. Finish laundry4. Finish watching Dance with Me (The first 3 disks we got from Netflix were either broken or pixellated about 15 minutes from the end)5. Keep reorganizing younger son's room

5 Things I would do if I were a billionaire:1. Get a house in the Blue Ridge mountains2. Get dear husband to quit his job3. Take all 5 of us to Europe4. Parks! Buy parkland in NC and give it to environmental groups5. Donate to something helping women and children in need.

Three of my bad habits:1. Wandering the internet2. Staying up too late obsessing about things that bother me3. Daydreaming

Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie (or quote them from memory).

Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.

Fill in the film title once it’s been guessed.

These are the players’ rules:
No Googling or using IMDb search functions (don’t cheat!).
Leave your answer(s) in the comments.

I pick the quotes; you guess without internet aid. I'll post the results as they come in. Bonus points if you guess which actor is in the most movies of the 15 (the quotes aren't necessarily said by his characters).

9
. "I must confess that I feel somewhat bewildered by what you have just
told me. To be born, or at any rate bred in a handbag, whether it have
handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary
decencies of family life which reminds one of the worst excesses of the
French revolution, and I presume you know what that unfortunate
movement led to?" The Importance of Being Earnest (with Colin Firth) - a wonderful version of Oscar Wilde's play. This line is said by Lady Bracknall, played by Dame Judy Dench (right).

10. "
I don't get married again because I can't find anyone I dislike enough to inflict that kind of torture on." All That Jazz, Maryann

11. "
I can't believe I have a bunch of dead people watching videos in my living room." Truly, Madly, Deeply (with Alan Rickman)

12. "Your golf ball, your running board, your car? Is there anything in the world that doesn't belong to you?" Bringing Up Baby (with Katharine Hepburn, right), one of my favorite comedies

13. "May I remind you gentlemen that when in doubt, consult the brigand's... handbook!" The Thief and the Cobbler. This one has wonderful, and very different, animation (see here, and here).

15. "Mother, I do not need a blind date. Particularly not with some verbally
incontinent spinster who drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney, and
dresses like her mother." Bridget Jones' Diary (with Colin Firth), Maryann

I'm going to add an extra one because that first one was so easy.

16. "I am in a dress, I have gel in my hair, I haven't slept all night, I'm starved, AND I'm armed! Don't MESS with me!" Miss Congeniality, Maryann

That makes two movies with Mandy Patinkin, two with Katharine Hepburn, two with Colin Firth, two with Humphrey Bogart, and three with Alan Rickman.

If you do the meme on your blog, please post that in the comments so I can come see (play).

This meme says to post five photos that "say something about the person you are." Not too hard (except I added a picture to the fourth one to finish the thought).

My fridge says lots about me. First of all, it says, "I am not a designer fridge!" I've got pictures drawn by my kids and pictures of my kids (you can't see most of those), a grocery list with a gardening cat called "Hairy Potter" (thanks!), magnets from special places like the NC and the SC aquariums, Acadia National Park, the Cone Manor on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Mt. Mitchell, pictures of the mountains, local magnets like the Mellow Mushroom and the dance center, and other special things. My fridge is quite loquacious, actually (more than I am!).

The living room is not as "busy" as the fridge, but says just as much about me. What do you notice first? Sunlight! That's what we designed the room and house for. We had the house plan set so that the living room would be on the southeastern side and we added the bay window (and another window to the right of it which you can't see). Does it also say "This is a big empty room so they must not be done decorating?" NO! It says, "We've got lots of floor space for playing games, and making designs with pattern blocks, and putting up train sets, and creating worlds, and.... dancing!"
Every house needs a ballroom. And a kitty. And a little balloon above the TV which actually has a motor and goes around in little circles when you turn it on (birthday present to me from dear husband). You can also see the redbud blooming out of the windows on the left.

This picture says that I'm in the middle of a number of music-related projects. I've got tapes to go through and categorize, CD's to put away, a pile of stuff on top of the stereo cabinet that came out of the cabinet when we got the new receiver and I haven't figured out where to put... and more. No, the record albums to the right aren't waiting to be put away. That's where they live. For some reason, this house wasn't designed with a whole lot of record storage (and it's only a small part of our record collection).

I wanted a whimsical picture, but my stuffed animals didn't want their pictures on the internet. Instead, here is the most deliberately decorated room in our house. Deliberately, but not seriously. The wall is light blue (though it looks off-white here). The painting is dear husband's "Housecats and Weathervanes" (click here to get a better view, although the colors aren't as vivid online).

We decided the light blue, and the white cabinet which you can't see to the right, gave the room a "beach-y" feel so we added fish, a crab, a boat (last two not pictured), and the whimsical picture below.

The two ducks on the ledge are from our 20th anniversary trip to Charleston. We stayed at a really nice Marriott downtown (on credit card points which were really useful. Usually we stay somewhere less expensive way out of town). They left a duck on the counter every night - our two went in the bathroom.

Of course, I had to have a garden post. The front of this bed is right next to a beautiful, tall, tulip tree. Bulbs do well in it, but other plants don't because the tulip gets all the water. I'm trying to gradually fill the bed with bulbs. The far end of the bed fares better, although perennials do better there than annuals. Besides the fact that I love gardening, this picture also says that I try to work with what is - I don't try to turn flower beds, situations, or people into something they're not.

If not the same, what is the first music album you purchased for yourself?

Elton John's Greatest Hits, which I bought in Junior High.

What artist currently occupies the most space either in terms of shelf space or megabytes on your hard drive?

The complete works of Beethoven on record (Thanks to my father-in-law!)

How many different types of music media (vinyl, cassette, CD, etc) have you owned in your lifetime?

Vinyl, cassettes, reel-to-reel tape, CD, .mp3's on the computer.

Who or what has had the biggest effect on your music taste?

That's a hard one. For classical, my parents and the music department at the NC School of the Arts. For big band, my father. For folk, the Fiddle and Bow program which used to be on WFDD radio from Wake Forest and the Back Porch Music program on WUNC from UNC-Chapel Hill. For Celtic, of course, Fiona Ritchie of the Thistle and Shamrock radio program. How do you currently prefer to listen to music?

Most often, I listen in the car. However I prefer to listen at home on the stereo.

In terms of music memorabilia, what is your most prized possession?

No music memorabilia - unless the Playbills from Broadway musicals count.

Have you ever “swapped headsets” with a complete stranger
(meaning have you ever unplugged the earphones from your listening
device and plugged them into someone else’s player and had them do the
same)?

No I-Pod.

Have you ever been completely obsessed with a particular artist? Who and to what level did your fandom go?

I go through obsessions with artists - listening to and finding out about them. Probably the most unusual one was back when we were getting to know the music of Stan Rogers. We couldn't find his albums in our part of NC. When we went to Boston, we bought all of them from a little record store in Harvard Square. We had to put clothes in our backpacks to carry on the plane so that we could fit the records in our suitcase.

What is the farthest you’ve ever traveled for a concert?

Mary-Chapin Carpenter in Richmond, VA (3 hours from here). We stopped there for the concert on the way back from visiting my sister and her family in Pennsylvania.

I threatened to make the questions on that meme
more interesting, at least to myself. I'd much rather learn about
people's flaws, dirty secrets, and psychological problems than their
favorite stupid color or what stupid kind of ice cream they like,
wouldn't you?

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?WHAT INSULTING NICKNAMES WERE YOU CALLED IN CHILDHOOD? The nickname I got was based on my last name. Which I'm not telling you.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?WHEN YOU CRY, DO YOU LOOK UGLY, OR DOES IT GIVE YOU A BEAUTIFUL SAD GLOW? How should I know? I'm busy crying - not looking in a mirror.

DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?ARE YOU FORGETTING HOW TO WRITE BECAUSE YOU SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON THE COMPUTER? Yes! I never liked my handwriting.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? DO YOU THINK VEGETARIANS ARE INSANE? (BECAUSE THEY ARE.) Ummm...no. OTOH, I don't have the incentive to become one. I could feel guilty about being a carnivore - but that would have to take its place in line behind feeling guilty for being a bad Catholic, and feeling guilty for being a bad Episcopalian, and feeling guilty for using fertilizer on the lawn, and feeling guilty for having too many unread magazines - hey, someone could write a song about this!

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?DO YOU LIKE KIDS? IF SO, WHY? WHY, IN THE NAME OF GOD? Amazingly, I have three (whom I like). When I was a teenager and was babysitting, I swore I'd never have kids.

IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?IF YOU WERE A DOG, WOULD YOU LICK YOURSELF JUST BECAUSE YOU COULD? DON'T TRY TO DENY IT. Yuck.

DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?ARE YOU AS FRIGHTENED OF CLOWNS AS YOU SHOULD BE IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU? I've always hated clowns. They're hiding something. When there's a clown character that goes bad in a movie, I think that they're finally revealing their true nature.

DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? IF YOU COULD BE EITHER VERY BEAUTIFUL OR VERY SMART, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? I'm selfish so I'd rather be very smart. Beauty would just be something others would enjoy.

WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?HOW MUCH MONEY
WOULD YOU REQUIRE TO HAVE INTIMATE RELATIONS WITH MICHAEL MOORE OR
ROSIE O'DONNELL (DEPENDING ON YOUR SEXUAL PREFERENCE BUT DOES THAT
REALLY MATTER WITH THESE TWO)? Not for all the tea in China.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CUSS WORD? %*@*$!#

DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?IF
YOU'RE A MAN, HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT YOUR JUNK IN YOUR ZIPPER? HOW BAD
DID IT HURT? IF YOU'RE A WOMAN, HOW GLAD ARE YOU THAT YOU'RE NOT A MAN? I've never had the Freudian "junk" envy. Though external plumbing would be useful on long hikes. But that's about it.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO GROW OLD OR DIE TRAGICALLY YOUNG? I'm past the point of tragically young.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?DESCRIBE YOUR MOST RECENT NIGHTMARE. It was probably one of those where I can't find my locker and haven't been to class in weeks and there's a major test coming up. Or maybe the one where I have to teach aerobics, everyone is waiting, and all I have with me is folk music.

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?DO
YOU WISH THAT, INSTEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION DEBATES, THEY INSTEAD
HAD TO BOX EACH OTHER, BECAUSE THEN THERE'D NEVER EVER BE ANOTHER
DEMOCRAT IN THE WHITE HOUSE? The boxing would be more meaningful than empty words.

RED OR PINK?ABBA: THE BLONDE OR THE BRUNETTE? Here's a convenient picture for those who want to do the meme. As far as the guys are concerned, the fairer haired one on the right looks too much like 70's, teeny-bopper idols like Shaun Cassidy. So I vote for the darker haired one (and facial hair is always helpful).

WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?ON
A SCALE OF 1-10, HOW MUCH DO YOU HATE SHOPPING FOR NEW CLOTHES (10
BEING SO MUCH YOU'D RATHER CLEAN THE CAT BOX WITH YOUR BARE HANDS). I washed cloth diapers for five years. The stuff in the cat box is relatively dry - it doesn't faze me at all. However, I don't totally hate shopping for new clothes so I'll say 9.8.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE BEFORE THE LAST TIME YOU THREW UP? How nice. It's been so many years I don't remember.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? NAME FIVE "CLASSIC" POPULAR SONGS YOU HOPE YOU NEVER HEAR AGAIN AS LONG AS YOU LIVE.

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU HAD A HUGE FIGHT WITH, WHAT WAS THE FIGHT ABOUT, AND WHO WON? Dear husband, I don't remember what it was about, and I started laughing so no one won.

FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?AS WE ALL KNOW,
PRO FOOTBALL IS THE ONLY SPORT WORTH CARING ABOUT. IN LIGHT OF THAT
FACT, WHO IS THE BEST NFL QUARTERBACK OF THE LAST 10 YEARS? BEST
RUNNING BACK? BEST WIDE RECEIVER? BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER? BIGGEST PRIMA
DONNA? WHINIEST BITCH? ZZZZZzzzzzzzzz....What were we talking about?

HAIR COLOR?BALD MEN ARE VERY SEXY. DISCUSS. A picture is worth... (Avery Brooks in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?DO YOU HAVE PERFECT VISION? IF SO, RACHEL LUCAS ENVIES YOU WITH THE FIRE OF A THOUSAND GALAXIES. No.

FAVORITE FOOD?FOOD YOU FIND SO REPUGNANT THAT YOU SIMPLY CANNOT BELIEVE OTHER PEOPLE PUT IT IN THEIR MOUTHS? Yogurt.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?WHEN YOU GO
TO THE MOVIES AND THE J
ERK BEHIND YOU KICKS YOUR SEAT CONSTANTLY, DO
YOU IGNORE/MOVE OR DO YOU CHALLENGE THEM TO FISTICUFFS? Ignore.

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED THAT MADE YOU GET ON YOUR KNEES AFTERWARDS AND BEG GOD TO GIVE YOU THE LAST TWO HOURS OF YOUR LIFE BACK? I'm too quick to turn movies off. Some of the movies I enjoyed in the 70's got turned off pretty quickly recently (like Nine to Five which I turned off at the pot smoking scene).

WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?DO YOU EVER PUT CLOTHES ON YOUR PETS? No

SUMMER OR WINTER?BEER, WINE, OR LIQUOR? Wine.

HUGS OR KISSES?FALL ASLEEP OR CUDDLE? Both.

FAVORITE DESSERT?FAVORITE FOOD THAT YOU KNOW WILL KILL YOU EVENTUALLY BUT YOU DON'T CARE BECAUSE IT IS JUST SO FREAKING DELICIOUS? Chocolate.

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?HAVE YOU EVER BEEN SO DISGUSTED BY A BOOK'S ENDING THAT YOU VIOLENTLY DESTROYED THE BOOK? No, but there was a Kate Wilhelm mystery with a totally unnecessary death in it ...

WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?TRUE OR FALSE: "REALITY" T.V. IS THE BEST REASON FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD TO HATE AMERICA. I would say true, but if they watch it, it's their own fault.

FAVORITE SOUND?FAVORITE DRUNKEN SLATTERN: PARIS, LINDSEY, OR BRITNEY? At least Britney had a song which works well on aerobic CD's.

WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?WHAT HAPPENED THE FIRST TIME YOU GOT DRUNK? 'FESS UP. I can't get drunk. I fall asleep after a ridiculously small amount of wine.

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?IF YOU COULD
HAVE MAD SKILLZ IN DANCING OR IN SINGING, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND
WOULD IT BE FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL SATISFACTION OR TO IMPRESS OTHER
PEOPLE AND POSSIBLY GET SOME ACTION? I've had so much voice trouble that singing is tempting, but I'd choose dancing because it would be fun.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHICH WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WOULD YOU USE IT FOR GOOD OR EVIL? Time travel. Good.

WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?IF YOU NEVER SEE ANOTHER Q&A MEME AGAIN, WILL IT BE TOO SOON? Some are interesting.